Storage rack



April 10, 1962 A. N. KoNsTANT 3,028,976

STORAGE RACK Filed July 17, 1959 2 sheets-sheet 1 /6/ 45 n Il.

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,79 4/ /5 /4--- f/ (40 \/6 s /5 /0 I April 10, 1962 Filed July 17, 1959 A. N. KONSTANT STORAGE RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O 3,028,976 STORAGE RACK Anthony N. Konstant, Mount Prospect, Ill., assigner to Speeds-ack Inc., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 17, 1959, Ser. No. 827,790 2 Claims. (Cl. 211-148) The invention relates to a storage structure which may be made with a plurality of vertically spaced racks or shelves of indefinite length or which will accommodate articles of an indeiinite length when stored in or on the structure.

The main purpose of the invention is to provide a storage structure designed to occupyga minimum of floor space in a warehouse and on or in which there can be stored in readily accessible condition a relatively large volume or amountof merchandise without regard to the horizontal spacing of the supporting positions or columns or other parts of the structure. Another purpose is to overcome the disadvantages of using a structure having individual cells or compartments, the sizes of which are such that bulky storage units cannot be stored in a cornpartnzent without developing an amount of waste or lost space not large enough to accommodate another storage unit.

It has been found that the aforesaid purposes of the invention may be attained in a structure having spaced columns fitted with cantilever arms projected outwardly therefrom so that columns for supporting the outer edges or front parts of the shelves or racks are not required. With such a construction, it is possible to provide a superposed deck of indefinite length in which the whole length of each deck can be effectively and efficiently utilized.

It is a `further object of the invention to provide a structure of the type desired which can be made selfsupporting without the necessity of tying or securing parts of the structure to the ceiling of the warehouse or to the posts or columns which support the various floors of the building in which the storage or warehousing space is located, and without the necessity of making extensive measurements or calculations before manufacturing a storage structure which has to be custom-made to tit the building. y f

A further object of the invention is to provide a structure in which the main supporting columns or posts may be pre-fabricated of standard shapes or bars and may be assembled on the job with other pre-fabricated parts, without the use of elaborate metal working facilities, and requiring a minimum of connecting elements such as nuts and bolts, rivets, etc.

Other features and advantages will be apparent as the description proceeds. The preferred embodiment which is described is illustrated in the drawings accompanying this application, in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective View of a storage structure embodying certain features of the invention, certain parts being broken away;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the bottom portion of the bent, showing the condition of the foot structure before any signiiicant load is applied to the column;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional plan taken on the line 3-3 or" FiGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE l;

FGURE 5 is a perspective view of the inner end of one of the cantilever arms;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing the use of a special hook connection which may be used for securing certain parts of the structure;

` row of columns.

Maice.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional elevation of the special hook connection taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 8 is an end elevation showing a cantileverstructure in which the top of a column is secured to the bottom flange of an I-bearn forming one of the ceiling girders; andv FIGURE 9 is an end elevation of a free-standing structure showing the manner in which one of the pre-fabricated columns is dropped into the socket of a foot structure slightly diierent from that shown in FIGURES l and 2.

Referring to said FIGURES l and 2, it will be understood that although only a pair of columns are shown in the drawings, the new storage structure may, and preferably does', include a series of any reasonable number of columns spaced apart in a row to provide enough bents for an elongated structure of the necessary length for the purpose desired. Similarly, although the structure shown in FIGURE l discloses a bottom rack with a pair of superposed decks of similar area vertically spaced apart to provide loading spaces or storing spaces therebetween, it will be understood that the structure may be extended upwardly to provide a greater number of loading decks. The lower loading decks, as shown, may be in the form of racks for storing long articles such as rolls of carpet or pole-like objects of indefinite length. In the case of articles such as pieces of household furniture, the frames may be decked over with boards so as to support the feet or legs of a chair or other piece of furniture of any size, wherever it may be placed on the deck.

FIGURE 1 of the drawings illustrates a structure of the free-standing type which requires no outside bracing or connection to the ceiling or the supporting posts of the building in which it is located. This feature is made possible by the use of a plurality of bents, each of which includes a Vertical column 10, a base structure designated as a whole at 11, and a series of superposed cantilever arms such as 12. Generally, it is desirable to have a two-sided structure having a single row of columns 10 ladapted to support decks symmetrically placed on each side of the It will be understood that the term deck or shelf as used herein is intended to include skeleton frames or racks as well as frames which are equipped with iioor boards, as previously described.

In general, it may be said that the columns 10, the feet or base structures 11 and the cantilever arms 12 are prefabricated and `are intended to be assembled on the job rapidly `and conveniently without requiring drilling, cutting or other mechanical operations, for example, `riveting or welding, in o-rder to enable the structure to be assembled in the building.

For example, the column lil is a prefabricated, hollow steel post. It comprises a pair of spaced uprights 13 and 14 which may be conveniently made of channel iron, the webs of which face outwardly and the flanges of which eX- tend inwardly towards each other, as shown best in FIG- URES 3 and 4 of the drawings. In order to provide the necessary structural strength to support direct vertical loads, and :also to resist transverse bending due to the cantilever loads supported by the structure, the channel shaped uprights 13 and 14 are desirably spaced aparta sucient distance so that the width of the post between the outer faces of the respective channel members vis ya plurality of times the depth of the columns, i.e. the distance between the outer faces `of the opposed flanges of the uprights.

Lateral stability of the column as a -whole against bending due to the cantilever loading is provided by cross elements l5 welded or otherwise united to the uprights 13 As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the foot structure abusare s 11 which in this instance serves as a rack for supporting long articles, may be symmetrical, providing not only `a foot Il for bracing the right hand side of the bent, but also a companion oppositely disposed foot 17 aligned with the foot 11 so as to brace the column from -tipping in the opposite direction whenever the left hand side of the structure happens to be loaded to a greater extent than is the right hand side of the structure.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, it will be seen that the foot 11 includes a bottom member 18 which is preferably rnade integral with the bottom member 19 of the companion foot I7. On either side of the central or median line of the symmetrical foot stiucture, the bottom element I8-i9 is made with a pair of upstanding channelshaped extensions 20 and 21 in the form of channels spaced apart to fit outside of the lower end of the column It?, as shown best in FIGURE 3. Each of said brackets or extensions 23 and 21 constitutes the inner end member of a foot which is in the form of a truss having outer and inner cross pieces 22 and 23 with a horizontal toppiece 24. Racking of the foot 11 is prevented by diagonal pieces 25 and 26. All of said parts 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are welded together and the similar parts of the rearward companion foot I7 are similarly united together so that the two halves of the twin bottom structure thus form a strong rigid support for the socket composed of the inwardly facing opposed channel members 2t) and 21.

The vertical height of the foot member 11 and its compainion 17 is such that when the column is subjected to its maximum bending stress due to unbalanced cantilever loading, the rocking action of the column 10 in the direction of the arrow 27 (see FIGURE 2) around the fulcrum Z8 will be adequately resisted by the lower end of the post 10 which is seated in the socket, and the fulcrum or abutment 28 will not be subjected to a sufficient horizontal pressure to cause a collapse of the foot 11.

In order to facilitate assembly `of the column 10 into the socket of the foot structure, it is desirable to make the bottom element 18-19 of the foot structure with a slight rise, say one-half inch, as indicated in FIGURE 2, which, in a case where the foot 11 is about three or four feet in length, will have the effect of expanding the mouth of the upper end of the socket about one-eighth inch so that the bottom end of the column can be readily lowered into the socket. However, as soon as the column receives any load, the middle of the bottom member of the foot will be flexed and will engage the iioor so as to provide a proper snug fit for the post in the socket. In this way, it is not necessary to provide any other means such as welds or rivets for securing the post and the foot together to form a rigid and secure union between the two parts.

Proper spacing `of the columns in the row may be eiected by longitudinal tie bars connecting adjacent columns. For example, a longitudinal tie bar 29 may be detachably secured to one of the cross pieces I near the bottom of the column, and one or more similar longitudinal tie bars may be used higher in the structure. Also, if desired, longitudinal shogging movement of the upper ends of the columns may be prevented by diagonal bracing bars extending between adjacent columns, as indicated at 30 in FIGURE l.

The special means for detachably connecting the cantilever arms to the columns will now be described. Referring now to FIGURES Li and 5, it will be noted that to the inner end 31 of the pre-fabricated cantilever arm 12 there is welded a steel, box-like side projection 32 havu ing` a pair of wings 3 and 34 which carry a horizontal connector pin 35, the inner end of which is welded into the wing 33 and the outer end of which projects outwardly from the end of the cantilever arm a distance far enough to extend through the inner and outer webs of the channel upright Id, as indicated in FIGURE 4. Near the inner end of the extension 13 of the cantilever arm there is also welded a short length of angle bar 36. The middle portion of the upright flange of the said short angle bar 36 is cut out so that the bottom flange 37 of the part 36 (see FIGURE 5) can be brought up against the flat underside of the part 31 of the cantilever arm 12, said cantilever arm I2 being preferably made box-like in cross section. Said part 36 is also Welded to the cantilever arm 12 and is made with a pair of holes 38 to accommodate a special hooked-shaped connector pin 39. Said holcs 33 are in vertical alignment and the same distance apart as the spaces between the holes in the inner and outer flanges of the upright 14.

In attaching a cantilever arm 12 to the column, the projecting outer end of its horizontal connector pin 35 is pushed inwardly and horizontally through a pair of aligned holes in the inner flange 4t) and the outer web 41 of the upright 13, until further inward motion of the arm is arrested when the vertical flange 42 of the angle bar 36 strikes the outer face of the column upright 1d. The pair of holes 38 in the angle bar 36 can then be aligned with a pair of the vertically spaced holes 43 in the outer face of the upright. The lower end 44 of the hook or anchor 39 is then inserted through the upper holes and then manipulated by partially rotating the hook in a clockwise direction (see FIGURES 6 and 7) until said end 44 passes outwardly through the lower holes, the hook finally assuming its final position as shown in said FIGURES 6 and 7.

Each of the cantilever arms 12 and 12 is connected to a column in a similar manner and is equipped with similar connectors by which it is detachably assembled on the column.

The pre-fabricated columns have the upright channel parts thereof made with holes arranged in a standard pattern at the same level, which pattern is repeated at equal vertical intervals. Every column is alike in this respect so that by selecting a set of apertures in the proper location when attaching the cantilever arms, the decks can be located at any desired height and with proper spacing to accommodate articles of the desired type and size.

To prevent longitudinal shogging movement of the outer ends of the cantilever arms of the structure, the arms are connected bythe longitudinally extending framing of some, at least, of the decks located above the base of the structure. Referring to FIGURE l, it will be observed that the cantilever arms 12 carried by adjacent columns are connected together by individual deck frames. As shown, each deck at the second level of the structure includes a pair of longitudinally extending front bars i5 and rear oars 46. The longitudinal front bar t5 is secured to the outer ends of the spaced cantilever arms I2 by means of short angle plates 47, and the rear frame bar 46 is secured to the inner end of said cantilever arms I2 by means of the angle iron brackets 36 previously described. Twisting or shogging movement of the ends of the bars of the cantilever arms 12 may be prevented by bracing the deck frames, or some of them, by means of diagonal brace bars such as 48 and 49 and one or more cross bars 50.

In the construction shown in FIGURE 8, one of the columns can be anchored at its upper end to a ceiling girder 51 so that there is no tendency for the column or bent to tip rearwardly or forwardly due to the cantilever effect. Therefore, in this instance, there is no need to provide forwardly and rearwardly extending feet for the base of the column, a pair of short angle iron pieces 52 riveted to the uprights 53 and 54 being all that is required.

In FIGURE 9, there is illustrated a foot structure slightly diierent from that shown in FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings in that instead of providing a rectangular foot with a horizontal top member, the corresponding member 55 of the foot (see FIGURE 9) is inclined so that the outer end of it is connected directly to the bottom member 56 at the outer point 57. This construction is simpler and cheaper than that shown in FIGURE l, but it will be understood that the sloping top piece 55 can not easily be used as a support for thc load.

Various features of the present invention which are believed to be new are set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A load supporting structure of the class described which includes a post of substantially rectangular cross section, and a footing for said post in the form of a floor engaging structure extending laterally in opposite directions from said post and provided with a socket vertically extending therein for slidably receiving and seating said post when the footing is unloaded, said footing when unloaded being normally bowed upwardly under said socket so that the upper end of said socket is enlarged to slidahly receive the bottom end of said post, but when loaded the post will push down said socket to engage the oor and the upper end of the socket will snugly grip the opposite sides of said post.

2. An elongated storage structure of the cantilever type including a plurality of vertically-spaced load-supporting decks, each deck comprising a plurality of aligned longitudinally connected shelves extending lengthwise of the structure, each shelf throughout its length having a front which is accessible for loading or unloading, and

at least three shelf-supporting bents spaced along the structure, each bent comprising a vertical column having spaced and braced front and rear uprights and a substantially horizontal shelf-supporting cantilever arm having a front end extending forwardly toward the front edge of the shelving and an inner rear end extending between and connected to the two uprights of the column, said inner end and one of said uprights being provided with interengaging .parts permitting engagement between said inner end and said upright and forming one of said connections, and a removable anchor for connecting the other upright with said inner end.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 703,554 Crum July 1, 1902 725,851l Kopp Apr. 21, 1903 1,698,974 Vance Jan. l5, 1929 2,390,292 Burton Dec. 4, 1945 2,622,541 Smart Dec. 23, 1952 2,937,766 Penn May 24, 1960 

